Fans of the beloved boy wizard were delighted this week when J.K. Rowling announced that she would be releasing a new story set in the Potter universe told from the point of view of Christian Grey.
Grey, the love interest from E.L. James’ popular Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy, did not make an appearance at Hogwarts in any of the original seven Harry Potter tomes, which, according to Rowling, was a “major missed opportunity.”
“As soon as I read [Fifty Shades], I contacted my publishers to see if we could add Christian into the original Potter books,” the British writer said in a tweet to fans addressing the new Potter material. “My editors convinced me to give it up, but I always regretted it. It’s time his story was told the way it was meant to be told: at Hogwarts.”
The new story takes place during Harry’s sixth year. Grey is a student at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a classmate of Harry’s, and the pull he feels toward what others deem a subset of the Dark Arts terrifies him.
One powerful section gives us a glimpse into Grey’s psyche as he bumps into Hermione in the Astronomy Tower:
Whenever he saw Hermione, or any other witch for that matter…well, let’s just say he’d heard Salazar Slytherin had had similar tendencies regarding pain. It was wrong though, and he, Christian, would not let himself give in to these new urges—whatever they were.
And besides, where would he find someone like what he wanted—someone completely docile, someone who would bend to his will and obey him no matter what? And then it came to him: Hufflepuff.
Night after night, Christian sneaks past Filch to peruse the restricted section of the library, where he finds books on how to bind, flog, and receive explicit written consent carved into the back of a witch’s hand in blood. He stalks the Hufflepuff common room, searching for what is known in the wizarding world as an Anastasiamagus. Finally, he finds Laura Snickle, a soft-spoken third year with long legs and sand-colored hair. In this scene, Christian and Laura indulge in a forbidden late-night walk through the castle:
The walls of the Room of Requirement had turned a deep red. Covering nearly every inch of them were hooks, from which hung floggers of various shapes and sizes, whips, handcuffs, and other enticing paraphernalia. There was a massive four-poster bed in the middle of the room, exactly like the ones in the Gryffindor dormitories, only this one appeared to have been made up with silk sheets, and there were furry cuffs attached to each post.
“Welcome,” Christian whispered, without knowing why. “To my playroom.”
You’ll have to head on over to Pottermore to read the rest of the story, but all we’ll say is that it goes in exactly the direction you think. Rowling’s snippets of backstory on the ancillary characters of the Potter world never fail to excite, and this new story is no exception:
“I’ve also thrown in details of which other central Potter characters are gay.”
